“I must have flowers, always and always”

These words spoken by Claude Monet highlight just how important the flower was to his art, and in his life; the same can be said for millions of gardeners and lovers of all things that bloom.

In fact, we love flowers so much that every year on March 12th, we celebrate National Plant a Flower Day! Taking place a little before the first day of spring, the day is meant to highlight the excitement that the coming season elicits, as well as giving us the opportunity to start thinking about what we plan on growing for the warmer months.

While the exact origins of this celebration aren’t known, this is a great opportunity to learn how to plant some flowers, especially if you never have done so before.

Let’s take a look at some of the unique qualities that flowers provide for us here on earth:

Flowers provide beauty and are often given as gifts to show affection or appreciation. We often give flowers for birthdays, graduations, Valentine’s Day or even have them arranged at funerals.

Flowering plants also provide us with the benefits of cleaner air, as well as purifying water and helping to hinder the erosion of soil.

More than half of the world’s fats and oils come from the pollination of plants and flowers.

They are a source of food for living creatures, such as bees, insects and hummingbirds.

Without our beloved flowers, other existing populations of plants would eventually decline and die out!

So let’s take a look at the steps involved in planting a flower:

Choose Your Pot!

Since it’s still cold in some parts of the world, let’s choose a pot that would be well-suited for allowing your flowers to grow indoors. Generally we want to provide our flower with a good amount of soil for growth – since we can move our plant outdoors once it gets warmer, look for a pot that offers at least 7 inches of soil depth. The Socker plant pot comes with a holder, which conveniently allows you to hang it off of a balcony, a small space or anywhere you’d like to show it off!

Flower Power

Whether you’re a fan of the common Daylily or something a bit more exotic such as the Snapdragon, you can choose just about any flower that you like; the color, the type, it’s all up to you! However, for the purposes of this day, let’s grow our plants from scratch with seeds.

Time to Get Dirty

Your flower will only be as healthy as the soil that it’s planted in – so make sure to choose a soil that specifically benefits it. If you choose a product that is labelled as “potting soil”, make sure that it utilizes a slow-release fertilizer. Otherwise, you might want to consider adding Miracle-Gro or a similar product to help your flower along.

Adding it Together

Once you have the seeds of the flowers you want to grow, as well as your soil and pot picked out, now it’s time to complete the process! Leave an inch or two of space below the lip of the pot when adding the soil. Plant your seeds around a half inch to an inch deep and add water. Wait for it to settle, and determine if you need to add more soil on top; water again if the soil looks dry.

One of the IKEA core values is “Sustainability and Responsibility”. Our business has been involved in promoting sustainable solutions for many years; long before it became a social and political issue throughout the world.

We understand the importance of taking care of our planet and the larger overall picture – by celebrating National Plant a Flower Day together, we hope to spread the message that sustainability is of the utmost importance for every single one of us!